The number of theories of innovation systems has grown considerably over the past two decades and several innovation system approaches have been developed. The focus of most has been on the development of technological innovations which create economic value.However, addressing macro-level societal problems – sociotechnical and environmental challengesin which the production, dissemination and use of social and technical knowledge and technology can potentially resolve the problem – has been overlooked.
The purpose of this paper is to compare and analyze agricultural transition periods in order to provide a new framework for agricultural development in Iran. Considering the foreseeable future, an innovative or knowledge-based economy will substitute the obsolete economy. In that respect, agriculture sector must adapt to these alternations in order to cope with the posed challenges. Multifunctional agriculture seems to be an enhanced alternative in which entrepreneurship is at the center of it
Development processes, economic growth and agricultural modernization affect women and men in different ways and have not been gender neutral. Women are highly involved in agriculture, but their contribution tends to be undervalued and overseen. Sustainable agricultural innovations may include trade-offs and negative side-effects for women and men, or different social groups, depending on the intervention type and local context. Promising solutions are often technology-focused and not necessarily developed with consideration of gender and social disparity aspects.
The 2016–2018National Invasive Species Council (NISC) Management Plan and Executive Order 13751 call for US federal agencies to foster technology development and application to address invasive species and their impacts. This paper complements and draws on an Innovation Summit, review of advanced biotechnologies applicable to invasive species management, and a survey of federal agencies that respond to these high-level directives.
Small enterprises are one of the most effective factors in the development of each country’s economic and social systems, having the ability to compete with large industries, so these enterprises are mainly focused by authorities. This study aimed to develop indicators of entrepreneurship in rural small enterprises as well as identifying the effective factors and obstacles to provide strategies of entrepreneurship development. The population of study included small business owners in Fars Province, Iran that initiated business in rural areas through quick-impact enterprises project.
For farmers, the transition towards agroecology implies redesigning both their production system and their commercialisation system. To engage in this type of transition, they need to develop new knowledge on practices adapted to local conditions, which will involve new actors in their network. This chapter explores the role of actors’ networks in the agroecological transition of farmers, with a particular focus on farming practices and modes of commercialisation.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development strategy in Chinese rural areas is an indispensable part of national development strategies. This paper reviews the ICT framework in agriculture and rural areas launched by the Department of Agriculture in China. It compares the rural ICT policies and strategies between China and the European Union (EU). The ICT development strategy framework is analyzed based on the situation in Chinese rural area and the experiences of the EU. Some lessons and suggestions are provided
China is at a critical stage of transformation from traditional to modern agriculture and its agriculture and rural economic sector faces severe challenges of shortage of natural resources, environmental degradation, agricultural disasters, sluggish income growth of farmers and widening disparity between urban and rural areas. The fundamental solution to these problems lies with the advancement of agricultural science and technology.
Diffusion of innovations has gained a lot of attention and concerns different scientific fields. Many studies, which examine the determining factors of technological innovations in the agricultural and agrifood sector, have been conducted using the widely used Technology Accepted Model, for a random sample of farmers or firms engaged in agricultural sector. In the present study, a holistic examination of the determining factors that affect the propensity of firms to innovate or imitate, is conducted
Since agricultural scientific data are valuable resources in the field of agricultural science and technology, it is important to share scientific data in agricultural science. The paper analyses current situation and existing problems on data sharing in China, based on expounding the connotation of agricultural scientific data. Then some countermeasures and suggestions are put forward to promote the level of the agricultural scientific data sharing